Turnovers doom Hornets in road loss to Tigers
Emporia State
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 02:28 p.m., September 24, 2007
Updated 02:28 p.m., September 24, 2007
HAYS — Through three victories, the Emporia State football team had made all the big plays down the stretch to win football games.
It’s no wonder, then, that the Hornets were left talking about the opportunity that got away in Saturday’s 26-12 loss to Fort Hays State at Lewis Field Stadium.
“It was a throw,” ESU quarterback Andre Sloan El said, “that I definitely wish I could have had back.”
At the time, the Hornets trailed just 16-12 midway through the third quarter.
ESU’s offense, which had struggled to produce points, finally seemed to find the opening it had been looking for.
On a second-and-24 from his own 24, Sloan El dropped back to pass and saw a wide-open Katrel Larkins streaking down the left sideline.
Throwing into a gusting wind, the ESU quarterback didn’t get as much on the throw as he wanted to.
“As soon as it left my hand, I kind of knew,” Sloan El said. “It kind of slipped out of my hand, and I kind of threw it off my back foot.
“... I looked at it as it released from my hand, and I was like, ‘Man.’ I was upset at myself.”
The ball caused Larkins to break stride, but the receiver still was open enough to slow down to make an adjustment to the ball.
When it finally arrived, Larkins couldn’t hold on, as the ball fell off his fingertips for an incompletion.
“I should have caught the ball,” Larkins said. “That’s all my fault. It hit my hands.”
ESU coach Garin Higgins said regardless of fault, it was a play that needed to be made — and also one the Hornets had made to help them to their 3-0 start.
“Does he score on that wheel (route)? I don’t know,” Higgins said, “but he gets down there inside the 10.”
After that, ESU had few chances to get back into it.
FHSU punched through a field goal on the next possession, then took advantage of the Hornets’ second of three turnovers.
Trying to make a play, Larkins took a pass from Sloan El and used a nifty move to break upfield into Fort Hays territory.
He was caught from behind, however, and the Tigers’ Joey Cotten stripped the ball away.
FHSU’s C.J. Lovett recovered the fumble, returning it 44 yards to the ESU 20.
“I should have had the ball high and tight,” Larkins said. “We work on it everyday in practice.
“I tried to go out there and do my own thing, and see what it got us?”
The Tigers took advantage six plays later, as Jordan Hickel’s 20-yard run effectively put the game away.
ESU (3-1, 1-1 MIAA) had an interception, punt and ran out of time in its last three possessions, sending the Tigers and their fans into a frenzy.
Coach Kevin Verdugo had Gatorade dumped on him with under a minute remaining, and one Tiger leaped into the stands after his team’s victory.
“We didn’t make the plays tonight that we’ve been making the last three weeks, and they made the plays,” Higgins said. “We could never get going.”
That also was the case on the defensive end.
For the second straight week, ESU faced a quarterback with an ability to scramble and make plays.
This time, the Hornets had a tougher time stopping it.
FHSU quarterback Shane Jackson rushed 15 times for 125 yards, with most of those yards coming on busted passing plays.
Five of his runs gave the Tigers first downs.
“I think we just had some blown responsibilities,” ESU linebacker Blake Ringwall said, “and we’ve got to fix it.”
During last week’s game against Southwest Baptist, ESU rushed fewer defenders to counter a scrambling quarterback.
Against FHSU, the Hornets blitzed more, and Jackson ran right by them on a few occasions.
Though Jackson had just 44 yards rushing at halftime, he contributed runs of 34, 21 and 23 in the second half.
“We were just trying to make something happen then,” Higgins said. “Their passing game didn’t scare us.”
The ESU pressure did force five sacks and 10 tackles for loss overall, but many of those came in the late stages of the game.
FHSU (3-1, 1-1 MIAA) also benefited by holding onto the football. The Tigers rushed 57 times without fumbling once and also didn’t throw an interception.
ESU’s defense had forced 10 turnovers and had scored three touchdowns heading into Saturday’s contest.
The Hornets lost despite making history in the first half. After an FHSU touchdown made it 16-7, ESU blocked the extra point, and Travis Lee scooped the ball up and returned it 100 yards for two points.
It was the first blocked extra point return for a defensive conversion in school history.
Seville Ko led ESU’s ground attack, rushing 14 times for 105 yards.
Sloan El finished 17-of-30 for 173 yards with two interceptions, while Ringwall added a game-high 12 tackles.
ESU travels to face Missouri Southern on Saturday.
“Next week,” Larkins said, “we’re coming back and fixing everything.”
Fort Hays State 26, Emporia State 12
Saturday at Hays
Emporia State 7 5 0 0 — 12
Fort Hays State 3 13 3 7 — 26
First quarter
ESU — Seville Ko 30 run (Wayne Gleason kick), 12:59
FHSU — Justin Barr 45 field goal, 7:06
Second quarter
FHSU — Jordan Hickel 1 run (Justin Barr kick), 7:48
FHSU — Cody Witte 16 pass from Shane Jackson (Justin Barr kick blocked), 2:30
ESU — Travis Lee blocked PAT return, 2:30
ESU — Wayne Gleason 30 field goal, 0:09
Third quarter
FHSU — Justin Barr 44 field goal, 1:49
Fourth quarter
FHSU — Jordan Hickel 20 run (Justin Barr kick), 14:11
GAME STATISTICS
ESU FHSU
First downs 14 20
Rushes-yards 29-125 57-294
Passing yards 173 94
Comp-Att-Int 17-30-2 8-20-0
Total plays-yards 59-298 77-388
Fumbles-lost 4-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-65 11-111
Punts-avg 6-33.5 3-44.7
Time of possession 24:11 35:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — ESU: Seville Ko 14-105, Andre Sloan El 12-18, Justin Wieser 1-1, Lucas Sullivan 2-1. FHSU: Shane Jackson 15-125, Jordan Hickel 24-87, Justin Glenn 7-45, Denzel Black 5-17, Anthony Smith 2-11, Tyler Elder 1-7, Trevor Zott 2-3, Team 2-(-3).
PASSING — ESU: Andre Sloan El 17-30-2-173. FHSU: Shane Jackson 8-20-0-94.
RECEIVING — ESU: Seville Ko 5-19, Sean Partridge 4-42, Katrel Larkins 3-26, Jarad Biggs 2-32, Paul Nichols 1-37, Eric Runge 1-9, Lucas Sullivan 1-8. FHSU: Cody Witte 3-49, Trevor Zott 2-12, Matt Brevi 1-18, Justin Glenn 1-14, Jordan Hickel 1-1.
PUNTING — ESU: Johnny Torres 6-33.5. FHSU: Tyler Elder 3-44.7.
Att — 5,194. Time — 2:52.
Records — ESU 3-1, 1-1 MIAA; FHSU 3-1, 1-1 MIAA.